My personal expertise is something I unfortunately have not practiced in a very long time. It is something I have loved since my childhood and hopefully plan on doing again in the future. This sport and my expertise that I love so much is riding horses.
When I was five years old and I told my mom that I wanted a horse she just laughed. I continued to tell her this almost every day for the next nine years and eventually, it worked. There is a lot more to this story though. Throughout my life I have always loved horses. She put me into summer camp when I was five and at the end of the day I would cry when I had to leave. I continued with camp until I started doing riding lessons and also got a job with a family friend cleaning her barn and caring for her horses. I held that job from age eight until the week before I left for college. I started cleaning stalls at a local barn as well interning for riding time and lessons. Horses have always been a passion of mine and this is why I consider them my expertise.
During my 4th and 5th grade summers I got the opportunity to lease a horse names Tess. Leasing a horse essentially means I had to pay for her care but I could ride her and take her to shows whenever I wanted. She was a very old Arabian show horse and I referred to her as a push button horse because she always knew exactly what to do, when to do it, and almost never acted up. She was easy to work with and easy to show but after two years I wanted more of a challenge. I got to lease Anna a five year old Saddlebred, the spring that I was in 6th grade. She was a very young horse for someone my age to be working with, especially because she was still in training. I loved Anna because she had so much energy and she barely knew how to walk, everything was always at a fast pace. We trained together for months until the summer showing season. I rode Saddleseat, which is a form of English, but it is not very common in the northeast.
I do not know how much a common person knows about riding English. In Saddleseat the saddle itself is longer on the sides and flatter. The bridle has two bits, the pieces of metal that go in the horses mouth. The first is skinnier and helps hold the horse’s headset correctly, the second is thick and more for the actual control of the horse. There are also two separate reigns , the smaller has to be held in between the pinkie finger and ring finger. It is a much more intricate style of riding and also more old fashioned and more upbeat. Some classes require you to rack, which is a fast paced movement only some Saddlebred horses have been trained to do.
I remember my first show with Anna like it was yesterday, it was a small local show just to start out. We were in a small class of about four girls, two of them I knew from my own barn. We walked slowly into the ring stopping at the rail once we entered. We started at a walk again, then trotting, the cantering then the same in the other direction. I was doing everything I had practiced. Posting to the steps of Anna’s trot, holding her back with a strong grip at the canter because of her ridiculous amount of energy. There were so many things running through my head but the most important things were to smile and stay confident; Anna could tell when I was nervous. We went through four different classes that day, equitation, pleasure, command, and showmanship. Each class we were judged on a different aspect of our riding. At the end of the show the championships were announced. I had won my division, something I thought was impossible to do at my first show.
Despite my excitement, problems arose with winning a championship, even at a local show. Other horse owners from the area had seen my performance with Anna and because I did not own her they started making offers to my trainer. At the time no one would tell me because I was only in the sixth grade. Soon the rumors started to surface and I was devastated, but fortunately my parents had heard them as well. They bought Anna for me and surprised me a few days later when I came home from school. It was the best gift I have ever received in my life and I cried..
I owned Anna for four years after that. We continued to show and continued to win classes and championships for the next three show seasons. I consider horse back riding my personal expertise even though it is something I want to continue working on. It is not just something I know a lot about but something I truly love. I had to sell Anna the beginning of my junior year of high school. Her expenses started to grow and I had much less time because of my job. Letting her go was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, but I will always be grateful for everything I learned from Anna and from riding horses throughout my childhood. Riding horses is a sport that takes a lot of trust, patience and determination and those are things I plan to apply to my everyday life.
Personal Expertise
My personal expertise is something I unfortunately have not practiced in a very long time. It is something I have loved since my childhood and hopefully plan on doing again in the future. This sport and my expertise that I love so much is riding horses.
When I was five years old and I told my mom that I wanted a horse she just laughed. I continued to tell her this almost every day for the next nine years and eventually, it worked. There is a lot more to this story though. Throughout my life I have always loved horses. She put me into summer camp when I was five and at the end of the day I would cry when I had to leave. I continued with camp until I started doing riding lessons and also got a job with a family friend cleaning her barn and caring for her horses. I held that job from age eight until the week before I left for college. I started cleaning stalls at a local barn as well interning for riding time and lessons. Horses have always been a passion of mine and this is why I consider them my expertise.
During my 4th and 5th grade summers I got the opportunity to lease a horse names Tess. Leasing a horse essentially means I had to pay for her care but I could ride her and take her to shows whenever I wanted. She was a very old Arabian show horse and I referred to her as a push button horse because she always knew exactly what to do, when to do it, and almost never acted up. She was easy to work with and easy to show but after two years I wanted more of a challenge. I got to lease Anna a five year old Saddlebred, the spring that I was in 6th grade. She was a very young horse for someone my age to be working with, especially because she was still in training. I loved Anna because she had so much energy and she barely knew how to walk, everything was always at a fast pace. We trained together for months until the summer showing season. I rode Saddleseat, which is a form of English, but it is not very common in the northeast.
I do not know how much a common person knows about riding English. In Saddleseat the saddle itself is longer on the sides and flatter. The bridle has two bits, the pieces of metal that go in the horses mouth. The first is skinnier and helps hold the horse’s headset correctly, the second is thick and more for the actual control of the horse. There are also two separate reigns , the smaller has to be held in between the pinkie finger and ring finger. It is a much more intricate style of riding and also more old fashioned and more upbeat. Some classes require you to rack, which is a fast paced movement only some Saddlebred horses have been trained to do.
I remember my first show with Anna like it was yesterday, it was a small local show just to start out. We were in a small class of about four girls, two of them I knew from my own barn. We walked slowly into the ring stopping at the rail once we entered. We started at a walk again, then trotting, the cantering then the same in the other direction. I was doing everything I had practiced. Posting to the steps of Anna’s trot, holding her back with a strong grip at the canter because of her ridiculous amount of energy. There were so many things running through my head but the most important things were to smile and stay confident; Anna could tell when I was nervous. We went through four different classes that day, equitation, pleasure, command, and showmanship. Each class we were judged on a different aspect of our riding. At the end of the show the championships were announced. I had won my division, something I thought was impossible to do at my first show.
Despite my excitement, problems arose with winning a championship, even at a local show. Other horse owners from the area had seen my performance with Anna and because I did not own her they started making offers to my trainer. At the time no one would tell me because I was only in the sixth grade. Soon the rumors started to surface and I was devastated, but fortunately my parents had heard them as well. They bought Anna for me and surprised me a few days later when I came home from school. It was the best gift I have ever received in my life and I cried..
I owned Anna for four years after that. We continued to show and continued to win classes and championships for the next three show seasons. I consider horse back riding my personal expertise even though it is something I want to continue working on. It is not just something I know a lot about but something I truly love. I had to sell Anna the beginning of my junior year of high school. Her expenses started to grow and I had much less time because of my job. Letting her go was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, but I will always be grateful for everything I learned from Anna and from riding horses throughout my childhood. Riding horses is a sport that takes a lot of trust, patience and determination and those are things I plan to apply to my everyday life.